Telling Them
by ProudToBeABadger
Summary: Scorpious Malfoy is home for the summer, and he is trying to avoid the one question from his parents that he knows could lead to trouble...
1. Prelude

_**Telling Them...**_

**PRELUDE**

"I can't do anything right with you!" She screamed, voice cracking with anger and unshed tears. "Whatever I do just isn't good enough!"

"Well maybe if you actually _did_ something for a change!" he snarled back, fury amplifying his voice. "All you do is whinge and complain, and never give a thought to the rest of us!"

"_I_ never give I thought to _you_? When was the last time you EVER did anything in this house? NEVER, that's when! And if you think –"

Scorpious closed his bedroom door to shut out the sounds of his parents arguing. He didn't like to hear them screaming at each other. He sank to the floor and put his head in his hands. Astoria and Draco argued so often now it was difficult to remember a time when they had ever been happy together. And Scorpious couldn't help but feel it was all his fault.

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**This is my first ever fanfiction, so please review for me, pretty pretty please?**

** -Badger Xx**


	2. Coming Home

**Coming Home**

Scorpious arrived home for the summer holidays, bursting with stories to tell his parents about his first year at Hogwarts, his new friends, his teachers, his subjects, his dorm room, and all the exciting things that had happened over the year. There was so much to tell, and he couldn't wait to see them! He hadn't come home for Christmas, or any other holiday during the year so he missed them greatly. He couldn't wait to tell everything that had happened to him that year. Well, almost everything. There was one thing he knew would be better kept a secret.

His parents met him at platform 9 ¾, delighted to have him home, and eager to hear about his year. He hadn't been the best at remembering to write letters, so there was a lot they didn't know. They listened as he told them about his Slytherin friends, and smiled as they recognised the familiar surnames, all of them pure-bloods whose families had high social standings.

When they got home, Astoria instructed the cook to prepare a feast in order to celebrate her only son coming home. Scorpius was delighted. The cook at Malfoy Manor always made delicious food. Draco wouldn't have kept her on if she didn't.

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**I know it's really short, but this was the first ever FanFiction I wrote, so pretty please review it for me? ^_^**

**-Badger Xx**


	3. The Deadly Question

**The Deadly Question**

The dinner was going smoothly and everything was wonderful until Draco winked at his son and asked the one question Scorpious had been hoping to avoid. "So son, met any girls yet?"

Scorpious shook his head, but the slow blush that crept across his cheeks betrayed him. "Uhm, well," he stammered. "There is this one girl, but I – I don't think she feels the same was about me."

Draco smiled indulgently. Young love, it was always the same. "So, who's the lucky girl?"

"I don't think you really want to know..." murmured Scorpious through a mouthful of delicious chicken casserole.

"Of course we do sweetie!" Astoria smiled. "We want to know all about her."

"Yes! Some strikingly beautiful Slytherin I presume?" added Draco

Scorpious froze. This was dangerous territory. He was really enjoying being home and seeing his parents, and he didn't want to do or say anything that would endanger that, but his parents were smiling at him, waiting for him to answer. Waiting for him to say the name of another Slytherin with pure blood, a respectable family, and a high social standing. They were going to be very disappointed in him, but he had to tell them. They wanted to know. "Roseweasly" he coughed. Better to get it over with quickly.

"Pardon? I didn't quite catch that. What was her name?" Draco was frowning slightly, trying to figure out what his son was saying.

"I said…roseweasly."

"Rose _who_?"

"Weasly" said Scorpious clearly, avoiding his father's eyes. Astoria gasped and dropped her fork.

"_Weasly?_ Did you say _Weasly_?" She turned to Draco. "Please don't tell me he said Weasly."

"He said Weasly." Draco's face was strangely blank. Astoria looked scandalised. Angrily, she turned on Scorpious.

"Rose Weasly, daughter of the blood traitor Ronald Weasly and that mudblood scum Hermione Granger, I presume?" She spat. Scorpius nodded mutely. He had known his mother would be angry, but he had expected his father to have much the same reaction. Instead, he was strangely quiet, staring down at the table, toying with the food on his plate, an almost wistful expression on his face. Scorpious was unsure what to do. His father's fury he knew how to deal with. But this? He had no clue.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, then Scorpious excused himself and escaped gratefully up to his room.

That was the night the arguing started. Scorpious could hear them from his room upstairs. They started out as murmurs, but grew louder until they were screams of rage that filled Scorpious's head and made him want to hide. He crawled into bed, shut off the light, and pulled the covers right over his head in an attempt to drown out the noise. But he could still hear it. He didn't sleep well that night.

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**This one was a bit longer :D I'm getting better at this. Please review!**

**-Badger Xx**


	4. The Old Photograph

**The Old Photograph**

The next morning Scorpious sat at the breakfast table, trying to think of something, _anything, _to say to break the awkward silence. But he could think of nothing. Astoria sat rigidly in her chair, hardly touching her plate of waffles, glaring at anyone who dared make even the slightest noise. Draco gazed uncomfortably out the window, absentmindedly pushing his food around on his plate with his fork, clearly wishing he was anywhere but here. Scorpious finished his food as quickly as he could, and excused himself from the table. He spent the rest of the day walking around the grounds of the manor, avoiding his parents at all costs.

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As the arguments got worse, so did Scorp's summer. He spent every day either in his room or outside, so he only had to face his parents at meal times. Mostly he just walked around the grounds, exploring, climbing trees, sometimes just sitting in the sun, lost in thought. Sometimes he even managed to convince the cook to pack him a picnic lunch so he could stay out all day.

As he walked, he wondered how he had managed to wreck his summer so quickly. The news that he had a crush on Rose Weasly shouldn't have had that much effect or caused arguments of this magnitude. There was definitely something else going on here, and Scorp was going to find out what it was.

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The next day, he took his picnic lunch, and set off out the door as though going for a walk as usual, but as soon as he was out of sight of the house, he ducked through the perfectly manicured garden to the big tree outside the living room window. The living room was on the second storey of the mansion, so Scorpious climbed up and made himself comfortable in a position where he could see but not be seen.

Nothing happened for a long time. The room remained empty, and Scorpious was thinking of giving up. His legs were cramped and he was getting bored. But no, he had to find out what was going on. Suddenly his patience was rewarded. The door opened and his father walked slowly into the room. As though he were dreaming, he moved across the room and picked up a framed photo that was sitting on the mantelpiece. Running his finger over a face in the photo, Draco slid down the wall until he was sitting hugging his knees to his chest, staring at the picture with watery eyes.

Scorpious looked away, unsure what to do. He had never seen his father so vulnerable before, and it kind of scared him. He had always regarded Draco as a strong man, incapable of failure, incapable of weakness. Everyone knew him and respected him. He could make almost anyone do almost anything. He could get whatever he wanted. So why was he crying over an old photograph?

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The tears were really falling now, and Scorpious wished he could see who was in the photograph, but Draco was holding it at an angle that made it impossible. Suddenly there was the distant sound of Astoria's high-pitched voice yelling for Draco to come downstairs. Draco started as though waking from a dream, placed the photo back on the mantel piece and hurried from the room.

Scorpious waited for a few moments to be sure his father had gone, then climbed to the edge of the branch and swung nimbly through the window. Rose had done a good job of teaching him how to climb trees. It was one of their favourite pass-times, when they weren't studying together or taking long walks around the lake. She was his best friend, but he would never admit that to anyone besides himself and her of course. There was too much at stake.

There were many photos on the mantelpiece, but Scorp could guess which one his father had been looking at. One of the photos wasn't as perfectly placed as the others. It stood crookedly, facing a different way. Scorpious peered at the photo of eight or so Hogwarts students smiling up out of the frame at him. With a start, he realised that one of them was his father. He appeared to be in about third or fourth year, and looked a lot like Scorp himself. A few of the other students looked vaguely familiar too – a mixture of Slytherins and Griffindors. But why did this photo make Draco sad? Was he longing to be back at Hogwarts? Was there someone he was missing?

Scorpious heard footsteps in the hall outside, so he ran to the window, jumped to catch hold of the nearest branch, and climbed down the tree at lightning speed. As soon as he hit the ground he fled, keeping close to the side of the house so he wouldn't be seen. He didn't want to get caught spying.

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**Review Please! :D**

**-Badger Xx**


	5. Permission

**Permission**

The results of Scorpious's "detective" work had only left him more puzzled, and he couldn't think of any other ways to get answers. Neither of his parents would tell him why they were fighting. And the fights were getting worse. Astoria had taken to sleeping in the guest room, and Draco no longer ate meals with the rest of the family. If one of Scorpious's parents walked into the room, the other would walk out, and if they did happen to bump into each other, there was a lot of glaring and shouting. Scorpious couldn't wait to get back to school.

After three months of wishing he was somewhere – _anywhere_ - else, the summer was finally over and it was time to return to Hogwarts. Scorpious gladly packed his trunk, found his pet albino ferret (which, strangely, his father seemed opposed to him having), and went to wait for his parents to take him to the station.

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"Morning son" said Draco wearily as he came into the kitchen. "Are you ready to go? Alright then..." He took Scorpious's arm and was about to disapparate when Scorpius pulled away.

"What about mum?"

"Your mother will meet us at the station" Draco replied stiffly. Scorpious nodded sadly. He didn't like to see his parents fighting, and he was still no closer to finding the reason why. He would have to spend the rest of the year wondering. Draco took his son's arm once more, and they disapparated. They arrived at the station, and walked through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. It still amazed Scorpious that thousands of wizards and witches walked straight through a wall and no one noticed. Muggles must really be stupid.

Astoria was waiting for them, and as soon as she saw Scorpious she hurried over and took his arm, steering him away. "Hurry sweetie or you'll miss the train."

"He has plenty of time" countered Draco. Astoria stiffened, and pointedly began walking faster toward the train, dragging poor Scorpious with her. At that moment the Zabinis appeared through the wall into the station. Pansy smiled and rushed over, clearly expecting a long conversation. Her husband Blaise nodded to Draco, and Draco nodded back, noticing how happy he and Pansy looked together. While Astoria and Pansy chatted, and Blaise and Draco exchanged a few words (Blaise was never much of a talker), and Draco noticed Blaise's twin daughters gazing at Scorpious. Draco nudged his son and nodded toward the girls, his expression clearly telling him to be polite.

Scorpious took the hint. He had no interest in the girls, but he knew it would make his father happy. "Hi" he said half-heartedly. The girls giggled in delight, blushing profusely. But Scorpious didn't seem to notice. His attention was on the large family of redheads that had just walked through the barrier. Draco followed his gaze as Blaise led his daughters away to board the train. Pansy lingered a moment longer to finish up her conversation with Astoria. Draco watched Scorpious blush slightly as Rose Weasly waved wildly at him. Rose's mother and father smiled at their daughter's enthusiasm, then turned to face each other, looking deep into each other's eyes. Ron had his arm around Hermione, and she had her hand resting in his back pocket. The two looked completely in love. Hermione was so beautiful. Ron was such a lucky man.

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Draco snapped quickly out of his thoughts when he became aware that Scorpious was looking up at him, eyes plainly asking if he was allowed to go and see his friend, but looking as disappointed as if Draco had already said no. Darting a quick look at his wife to assure himself she wasn't listening, Draco crouched down so he was level with Scorpious, and whispered "Scorpious, I see the way you look at her. I know you are young, and you may think you have all the time in the world to tell her, but trust me you don't. Go and tell her. Tell her before she falls for someone else, before she slips away. And don't let anyone else's opinion change your mind."

Scorpious's eyes widened at his father's words, then he nodded. He gave his father a swift hug goodbye, kissed his mother, grabbed his luggage, and then ran on to the train after Rose. His father was right. He couldn't let Rose slip away.

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**Review pretty pretty please ^_^**

**-Badger Xx**


	6. Realisation

**Realisation**

As the Hogwarts express pulled away from the station, Rose, Scorpious, and Albus – Rose's cousin, and Scorpious's roommate – waved out of the window of their compartment, trying to catch one last glimpse of their parents. Astoria and Draco were standing next to each other; they were trying to pretend nothing was wrong, but anyone who looked closely would notice the extra few inches between them, the way they faced slightly away from each other, refusing to meet the other's eyes, their stances almost wary. They both lifted their hands in farewell, smiling tightly, and Scorpious noticed Draco's eyes were not on him, but on someone on the crowded platform, an almost pained expression on his face. Following the direction of his father's stare, Scorpious saw Rose's parents hugging tearfully, watching the train take their children away for another year. Ron wiped away Hermione's tears and she leaned her head on his shoulder, waving to her children.

At last Scorpious understood. Draco was in love with Hermione Granger, and by the sound of things, he always had been. It had been her photo that had made him cry. He had listened to other people for too long, and let someone else get her. He had let her slip away, and she had ended up happily married to the man Draco most despised. Scorpious vowed then and there to never let the same thing happen with Rose.

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**Pretty cute, I think ^-^ what do you reckon? Review please :D**

**-Badger Xx**


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